Lifestyle: Change in 2016

To recap the year 2016, there were so many changes in the Western world. The most recent was the death of George Michael followed by Carrie Fisher. There were others, too, on this list over the past few days: Richard Adams, Rick Parfitt, Rabbi Lionel Blue, Zsa Zsa Gabor. It was not a good year to be a celebrity. So many major entertainers died, I really lost track. Others on this obituary list that we said good-bye to in 2016 before April even ended were David Bowie, Prince, Harper Lee, Pierre Boulez, Cecil Parkinson, Alan Rickman, Umberto Eco, Anita Brookner, Johan Cruyff, Ronnie Corbett, Sir Terry Wogan, Harper Lee, Sir George Martin, Keith Emerson, Nancy Reagan, Zaha Hadid and Paul Daniels.

Politicians Fidel Castro, Shimon Peres, John Glenn, Bhumibol Adulyadej and Janet Reno were laid to rest. Successful author Tim LaHaye passed away in July. Is there anyone I have forgotten to add to the list? Surely there is. And the year isn’t finished…

The most obvious changes in 2016, though, were those on the global political platform. In the summer we had Brexit. Most curious. The powers that be in the UK created a panic almost over night. Britons were stirred to vote, electing out of the European Union. Then, those that incited the uproar silently slithered away. The Prime Minister, David Cameron resigned. The unpopular long time member of the British Parliament, Theresa May, suddenly found herself leading the Conservative Party in July. Most unlikely.

But that was not the most unlikely thing to happen in 2016. Turning our attention across the pond, the US had their own political circus going on, and it still isn’t over. Americans found themselves torn over two evils. Clinton vs Trump. One irony in the mix is that Clinton won the popular vote, but didn’t clinch enough votes in the Electoral College. This was the fifth time during the history of US presidential elections that the most popular candidate did not come out ahead, dating all the way back to 1824.

The Clintons can’t, however, have it both ways. For it was George H Bush that won the popular vote back in 2000 only to see Bill Clinton rise to power after winning the electoral vote. The rest is, well, history.

Trump’s victory set off many riots and acts of hatred. His loose lips won him many enemies across the globe. Magazine giant, Time, wasn’t one of them. They elected him Person of the Year and put him on the cover. Do you know who else was their Person of the Year once-upon-a-time? Adolph Hitler! Coincidence? I think not!

We will soon see the effects Trump has on America and Americans.

I predicted a Trump victory in the late winter of 2016. My husband, my comrades and my compatriots thought me loopy. Many conservative Christians voted for Trump under the beliefs that he is a modern-day Cyrus and that God has planted Him in office with some great purpose to fulfill. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, google it…

Looking at the man, his life and his journey, it is certainly hard to get your head around that he is going to be the next president of the United States. Coincidence? I think not!

Regardless where you stand, on the side of Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, or one of those that thought Obama would be re-elected for a third term, one thing is for certain, everything changes in 2017.

People are getting radical. People are getting ready. Families are consolidating and liquidating. But not everyone. Some people are just getting on as they always do. They are the unbelievers, those that think nothing will ever change. Nothing major will ever happen. They are happy just ticking along.

What about you? Where do you stand in all of this? What do you believe? What do you know? What do you predict about the immediate future? Are we in for a wild ride?

Written by Jori Sams

Jori Sams is a Christian author and freelance writer with nearly 2000 published pieces on the Internet, with over 1500 being published by Yahoo. Her books are published through Writeious Books. When she isn’t writing, you can usually find her following the sun…